Toy



Patented June 1, 1943 "UNITED STATES ears-hr orrics TOY Allard A. Braddock, Evanston, Ill.

Application March 24, 1941, Serial No. 384,826

6 Claims.

The present invention relates to toys; and the primary objects of the invention are to provide a toy for amusement especially of young children; to provide a toy comprising right and left elements which a child may removably attach to his shoes and which will produce an amusing sound with each step the child takes in ordinary walking; to produce such a toy which in use is entirely automatic, the amusing sound being effected by mechanism automatically ac tuated by the normal lowering and raising of the childs feet while walking; to provide such a toy which produces sufficient sound, though not of an unpleasant or irritating quality, to attract the attention of observers who might themselves be potential purchasers of such toys; and to provide such a toy which is attractive and novel in appearance, sturdy in construction, efficient in operation and economical in manufacture.

Illustrative embodiments of the invention are shown in the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a shoe on a persons foot shown fragmentarily, the foot shoe being shown in a tilted position from which the toe of the shoe is being lowered, and the toy of the present invention being shown attached to the shoe and with its movable parts shown in their normal positions;

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevational view of the same showing the shoe and toy in a further lowered position, the movable parts of the toy thus being shown in turned positions other than normal;

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 showing the shoe and toy in a fully lowered position, the movable parts of the toy being shown in other turned positions;

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figures 2 and 3 showing the shoe and toy in a position of raising movement, the movable parts of the toy being shown in still other turned positions;

Figure 5 is an enlarged front elevational view of the toy per se shown partly in sections taken on line 5--5 of Figure 1;

Figure 6 is a fragmentary top plan view of the toy per se shown partly in section taken on line 6-5 of Figure 5;

Figure '7 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on line 'l-1 of Figure 6;

Figure 8 is a side elevational view of a modified embodiment of the invention attached to a shoe on a persons foot shown fragmentarily; and

Figure 9 is an enlarged sectional view of the same taken on line 9-9 of Figure 3.

Referring now in detail to this drawing in which like parts are designated by the same numerals in the several views, the toy illustrated in Figures 1'7 inclusive comprises a frame generally designated l9 and composed of a horizontal bottom frame member I! provided with upstanding side fianges l2, l3 at the sides thereof and a side frame member it secured to the upstanding side flange ll of the bottom frame member I! as by spot welding indicated at is in Figure 5. This frame It! is adapted for association with, i. e. removable attachment to, a persons shoe it preferably by means of a flexible element here shown as an elastic strap l1 whose opposite end portions 58, I9 are respec tively passed through parallel slots 20, 20, in the side frame member l4 and through a slot 2| in the upstanding side flange E3 of the bottom frame member it, said end portions l3, l9 being doubled back and stitched at 22, 23 respectively to the body of the elastic strap ii. In Figure 5 the elastic strap l! is shown in its normal unflexed position in full lines, and in its upwardly flexed position in broken lines. The horizontal bottom frame member ii is preferably provided with a plurality of integrally formed upward projections 25 adapted to engage the sole of the shoe 16 to insure a firm attachment of the toy to the shoe.

A sound instrument is fixedly secured to the frame it and as shown in Figures 1-7 inclusive this sound instrument is in the form of a gong or hell 25 fixedly secured to the side frame member is as by means of a bolt 26 passing through i apertures 2'5, 23 respectively in the bell 25 and the side frame member if, the bell 25 being firmly secured on the bolt 26 between the bolts head 29 and a nut 3t threaded thereon and the bolt 2'5 being firmly secured to the side frame member M by means of nuts 35, 32 threaded on the bolt 26 on. opposite sides of the side frame member M.

A striking lever 33 is pivotally mounted upon the side frame member M as by means of a loose rivet 34 passing through aligned apertures in the striking lever 33 and the side frame member It. This striking lever 33 is provided with a hammer arm 35 whose normal position out of contact with the bell 25, as seen in Fi ure l, is maintained by the action of a spring 36 whose one end in secured to an outwardly flanged arm Bl on the striking lever 33 and whose other end is soured to an outwardly flanged bracket 38 on the front bottom edge of the side frame member Id. The striking lever 33 is also provided with an outwardly projecting flange or lug 39,

the function of which will be described herein after.

An actuating lever generally designated 40 has its rearward end fulcrumed on the side frame member (4 as by means of a loose rivet 4! pass-- ing through aligned apertures in the actuatin lever 40, a spacer collar 42, and the side frame member l4. The upper and forward end of the actuating lever 40 is provided with an outwardly projecting flange or finger 43 adapted to contact the lug 33 on the striking lever 33, and the actuating lever 40 is further provided with a depending leg 44 adapted to contact a tread surface 45 such as floor, ground or sidewalk, and

thus raise the actuating lever 40 relative to the frame In during lowering movement of the persons foot. A second spring 46 has one end thereof connected to the finger 43 on the actuating lever 40 and the other end thereof connected to the bracket 38 on the side frame member 14, and this second spring 45 serves to normally maintain the actuating lever 40 in its lowered position with a shoulder 41 thereon abut-' ting an outwardly projecting flange or stop 48 on the lower edge of the side frame member [4.

In use, the child attaches the toy to his shoe, and preferably one to each shoe, by means of the elastic strap 11. As the child then walks in an ordinary manner, the toy operates as follows:

With the toe of the foot in a raised position and the movable parts of the toy in their normal positions as seen in Figure l, the shoe is lowered to its position seen in Figure 2. The depending leg 44 of the actuating lever 43 contacts the tread surface 45 thus raising the" actuating lever 43 relative to the frame 10, and the finger 43 on the actuating lever 40 engages the lug 39 on the striking lever 33 thus rotating the striking lever 33 in a clockwise direction, during which movement the springs 36 and 4B are extended and tensioned. Further lowering movement of the shoe from the position shown in Figure 2 to that shown in Figure 3 results in further raising of the actuating lever 40 relative to the frame l until the finger 43 passes beyond range of the lug 39 on the striking lever 33 thu releasing the striking lever, whereupon the spring 35 retracts and moves the striking lever 33 so that its hammer arm 35 strikes the bell 25 as shown in full lines in Figure 3, and the spring 36 immediately thereafter returns the striking lever 33 to its normal position indicated in broken lines in Figure 3.

As the shoe is raised from its position shown in Figure 3 to its position shown in Figure 4, spring 45 lowers the actuating lever 40 relative to the frame member I 3. During this movement the finger 43 contacts and rides over the lug 39 turning the striking lever 33 to its position shown in full lines in Figure 4, but this movement of the striking lever 33 is not sulficient to cause the hammer arm 35 to strike the bell 25, and the striking lever 33 again returns to its normal and starting position indicated in broken lines in Figure 4 and in full lines in Figure 1 as soon as the finger 43 passes downwardly out of range of the lug 39. Further raising of the shoe from its position shown in Figure 4 permits the spring 43 to return the actuating lever 43 to its starting position with the shoulder 41 of the actuating lever 40 abutting the stop 48 on the side frame member M.

The modified form of the invention illustrated in Figures 8 and 9 embodies the same basic idea as that embodied in the form previously described. In this modified form, the toy comprises a bellows generally designated 50, which consists of a rigid upper plate 5| and a rigid lower plate 52 of any suitable material such as wood and an accordion-pleated flexible element 53 having its top and bottom pleats air-tightly secured to the upper plate 5| and the lower plate 52 in any suitable manner as by gluing. A rigid bar 54 is secured to the upper plate 5| and has its opposite end portions 55, 56 flanged upwardly and slotted at 51, 58 respectively to receive the ends of an elastic strap 59 adapted to secure the toy in position on the persons shoe 60, as shown. A sounding instrument, such as a small whistle or horn lil is snugly inserted in an aperture 62 in the upper plate 5|, and it will readily be seen that as the wearer of the shoe and the toy walks in an ordinary manner, the bellows 50 is alternately compressed to sound the horn 6i and extended to fill with air through an air intake port '63 in the lower plate 52.

It will thus be seen that an attractive and sturdy novelty toy is herein provided for a child's amusement and while but two specific embodiments of the invention have been herein shown and described, it will be understood that certain details of the constructions shown may be altered or omitted without departing from the spirit of the invention as the same is defined by the following claims:

I claim:

1. In a device of the class described, a frame adapted for association with a persons foot, a bell fixedly mounted upon said frame, a striking lever pivotally mounted upon the frame and having a hammer arm, a spring connected to said striking lever and to the frame for normally positioning the hammer arm out of contact with the bell, an actuating lever fulcrumed on the frame and having a depending leg adapted to contact the tread surface for reciprocating said actuating lever during the lowering and raising movements of the persons foot, said actuating lever being operatively associated with the striking lever for moving the hammer arm farther away from the bell and tensioning said spring and ultimately releasing the striking lever during the lowering movement of the persons foot, said spring thereupon moving the striking lever so that its hammer arm contacts the bell and finally returning the striking lever to its normal position.

2. In a device of the class described, a frame adapted for association with a persons foot, a bell fixedly mounted upon said frame, a striking lever pivotally mounted upon the frame and having a hammer arm, a spring connected to said striking lever and to the frame for normally positioning the hammer arm out of contact with the bell, an actuating lever fulcrumed on the frame and having a depending leg adapted to contact the tread surface for raising the actuating lever relative to the frame during the lowering movement of the persons foot, said actuating lever being operatively associated with the striking lever for moving the hammer arm farther away from the bell and tensioning said spring and ultimately releasing the striking lever during said lowering movement of the persons foot, said spring thereupon moving the striking lever so that its hammer arm contacts the bell and finally returning the striking lever to its normal position, a second spring connected to the actuating lever and to the frame for lowering the actuating lever during the raising movement of the persons foot, and a stop on the frame for limiting said lowering movement of the actuating lever.

B. In a device of the class described, a frame comprising a bottom frame member having upstanding side flanges and a plate member secured to one of said side flanges, a flexible member having its opposite ends secured to the opposite sides respectively of said frame for detachably securing said frame to a persons shoe with the bottom frame member adjacent the sole of said shoe, a sounding instrument mounted upon said plate, and actuating means mounted upon said plate operatively associated with said sounding instrument and responsive to lowering and raising movements of the persons shoe for actuating said sounding instrument.

4. In a device of the class described, a frame comprising a bottom frame member having upstanding side flanges and a plate member secured to one of said side flanges, a flexible member having its opposite ends secured to the opposite sides respectively of said frame for detachably securing said frame to a persons shoe with the bottom frame member adjacent the sole of said shoe, a plurality of upward projections on said bottom frame member adapted to engage the sole of the shoe, a sounding instrument mounted upon said plate, and actuating means mounted upon said plate operatively associated with said sounding instrument and responsive to lowering and raising movements of the persons shoe for actuating said sound instrument.

5. In a device of the class described, a frame adapted for association with a persons foot, a bell fixedly mounted upon said frame, a striking lever movably mounted on the frame and having a hammer arm, a spring connected to said striking lever and to the frame, said spring normally positioning the hammer arm out of contact with the bell, actuating means mounted on the frame and responsive to lowering movement of the persons foot for moving the hammer arm farther away from the bell to tension said spring and ultimately releasing the hammer arm, whereupon the spring moves the striking lever so that its hammer arm contacts the bell and returns to its normal position.

6. In a device of the class described, a frame adapted for association with a persons foot, a bell fixedly mounted upon said frame, a striking lever pivotally mounted on the frame and having a hammer arm, a spring connected to said striking lever and to the frame, said spring normally positioning the hammer arm out of contact with the bell, actuating means mounted on the frame and responsive to lowering movement of the persons foot for moving the hammer arm farther away from the bell to tension said spring and ultimately releasing the hammer arm, whereupon the spring moves the striking lever so that its hammer arm contacts the bell and returns to its normal position.

ALLARD A. BRADDOCK. 

